


One Fleeting Moment

by DreyaCira



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Ambiguous Warrior of Light, Gen, Platonic Relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-26
Updated: 2017-09-26
Packaged: 2019-01-05 13:21:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 869
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12190749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DreyaCira/pseuds/DreyaCira
Summary: Haurchefant is blessed with time to reflect.*Major Spoilers for Heavensward*





	One Fleeting Moment

**Author's Note:**

> Please note, major spoilers. Very important spoilers. Kept the WOL ambiguous in gender, race, and class. I see their relationship with Haurchefant as a strong friendship, but you can imagine it as something else if you like.

Haurchefant did not hesitate. It was not his way. He was a man of action, a knight, always ready to put himself in harm's way to defend others. Which is exactly what he had done in this instance. He had seen the spear of light, hurtling toward his friend, and had thrown himself in front of it. It was not reckless or impulsive. He was a knight, he had a shield and he used it. 

He had not expected his shield to break. It was a possibility of course, and as such he was prepared for it. But his shield had seen many battles, and it had always been impenetrable. It had saved his life and the lives of others countless times. The shock that went through him as the spear of light shattered his shield was as much from the surprise of it breaking as from the light piercing his body. 

What followed seemed somehow muffled, the world blotting out around him as he staggered and lost control of his body. There was agony exploding through his abdomen, deep inside him, and it burned unbearably and froze at the same time. He tasted something hot, with a metallic tang, and then he was choking on it, coughing so that it spilled from his mouth. 

He must have hit the ground at some point, because the pain intensified at the impact, and he bit off a cry. It was not befitting of a knight to wail, but Haurchefant was sure his friends would forgive him the outburst. He could feel his muscles spasming now, jerking from the insult to his body that they did not know how to fix. Halone help him, he wished it would stop. He felt tears prick his eyes from the sheer intensity of the pain, and the metallic taste was in his mouth again. It was blood, Haurchefant knew.

He felt his upper body lifted, cradled by warm, strong arms, and blinked the haze from his eyes to see Aymeric kneeling beside him, holding him. Noble, elegant Aymeric, whose father had imprisoned and tortured him for daring to speak truth to power. Aymeric, his loyal and kind friend, whose own wounds had not yet begun to heal, had hastened nevertheless to Haurchefant's aid. Haurchefant's eyes slid away from his friend's face and onto another, so near to him.

The Warrior of Light knelt on his other side, their features drawn with worry, their eyes wide with fear like Haurchefant had never seen in them before. That, more than anything, solidified reality - the wound was fatal. He had known it from the moment the spear broke through his shield to impale him. He had been in enough battles to recognize the signs of a mortal wound, and the deepness of the pain, the way that warmth was spreading beneath him rapidly as his blood drained from his body, told of the severity of his injury. That, and the desperation in the Warrior of Light's eyes, and the way that Aymeric clutched him, like he could keep Haurchefant in the physical realm by holding him there.

As far as ways to die, it was not a bad one at all, Haurchefant reflected. He always thought he might die on the battlefield, in service of those he cared for, and he had managed just that. This moment before death, surrounded by friends, was an added blessing. Briefly, selfishly, he wished his family could be here, so that he could say one final farewell to them. But no, he would not wish that on his brothers or his father. They would experience enough grief just to hear about his passing without having to witness it. 

Haurchefant's breathing was coming rapidly and shallowly, so much so that he couldn't complete his plea for forgiveness to the Warrior of Light. Instead, he reached out his hand, and felt warmth envelope him when the Warrior immediately grasped it in both of their own. They bowed over it, shaking their head in denial, and fixed Haurchefant with the most heartbreaking expression he had ever seen. By the Fury, he never wanted to see that much pain on a person's face, let alone a dear friend's. 

Maybe he was being selfish again, but he wanted to remember the Warrior of Light as he had known them. The steadfast hero, the one against whom no enemy could triumph. The one who always had compassion for the weak and the wronged, who worked tirelessly to save others with no thought of his own wellbeing. Even more than that, Haurchefant wanted them to remain that person. He could not bear the thought of them in despair, losing sight of their goals to mourn his passing instead. He wanted them to be as they had been, always a beacon of light for others. Hope incarnate. As Haurchefant felt the life ebbing out of him, he implored the Warrior of Light to smile, as a true hero should. And because they were so incredibly selfless and generous, because they were every bit the hero that Haurchefant believed they were, they did. 

With that smile, peace settled on Haurchefant's soul, and he closed his eyes for the last time.

**Author's Note:**

> I had a lot of feelings about Haurchefant's death and felt compelled to write something about it.


End file.
